Rogue in the House - Part 1
Karai landed on a rooftop between her two aides, staring down Alex, the Turtles, Alopex, Tiger Claw, Venus de Milo and Mona Lisa, wielding her katana.
"At some point in a ninja's life…"
Alex clashed with Karai, very much evenly matched as Alex ended up kicking Karai away.
She then clashed with Leo before she kicked him in the plastron, knocking him onto his shell.
"...they must choose between doing what others tell them no matter what…"
Karai then leapt in the air, stomping on Leo's plastron, pointing a tanto at him.
"...or to do what is right. I say this because I don't believe Karai will do the latter."
Karai, as a child, looked up at Oroku Saki.
"This is because she was raised by the Shredder since she was a child, being an abandoned orphan."
Saki jumps in a dojo before he and Karai start throwing punches in the air.
"Was even trained by him personally."
An adult Karai kneels before him as he places the whole blade of a katana in its scabbard before handing it to her.
"And serves him loyally to this day."
Karai stares intensely as her face is drenched in sweat.
"Leo seems to think that there's something different about Karai, that she's nothing like the Shredder."
Her two aides knelt in front of her as she sat behind a table, where she pressed a button, opening a hidden room behind her, which she entered.
"However, I believe she's too grateful and too loyal to see that the right thing is to leave Shredder. And because of that, she'll never live a life with honour."
Karai kneels before the Utrom Shredder, who was floating in a tank while his exo-suit, with its human disguise over it, lay on a nearby table.
"I just hope that Leo doesn't get hurt when he realises that Karai is a lost cause."
Karai opens her eyes with a look of concern and worry.
Onboard a freighter that the Foot were using as a temporary base, Karai entered the large room with the Foot symbols all over, walking to the hidden door, which opened up and she walked into the hidden room instantly.
She stopped in front of the tank Shredder was in and bowed with her hands together.
"You summoned me, Master?" She asked him.
"I did." Shredder replied as he opened his eyes. "My recuperation is finally at an end." The worms that crawled all around him came off and swam away. "The worms have done their work." A hover pod then lifted up towards him from below. "At long last the time has arrived for my resurrection."
The water in the tank then got drained out, the tank itself also vanishing.
"As you command, Master." Karai said with another bow.
She then grabbed his hover pod and carried him to his exo-suit, which was inside his armour.
Karai placed him inside, backing away as he turned to face her. He then pressed a button, which powered up the exo-suit and armour, which was new, as it had a shine that the old armour lacked.
"And so I stand before the world…" He snarled, the stomach closing up and hiding his true self. "...reborn!" He then walked up to Karai. "But we have little time to waste. The Utroms who hunted me and their accursed human Guardians may have gone, but they will return in greater numbers." He then walked out into the large room, Karai following him. "We must be ready."
"Unfortunately, My Lord, we are not ready." Karai informed him as the hidden door closed.
"What?" Shredder gasped.
"Many of your followers were destroyed in the futile war for control of New York." Karai explained.
"Yes, Karai, but what we lack in numbers we make up for in strength and loyalty." Hun said as he stepped out of the shadows, punching an open palm before bowing to Shredder. "Master, it's good to see you back in action. And, if you allow me, I'd like to show you what we've been working on."
Both Shredder and Karai walked past Hun.
The three entered a lab, where various Foot Technicians were working, eventually walking down a hallway.
"First, Master Shredder, I have a little welcome back present that I hope you will enjoy." Hun said, stopping in front of a tank that had a brain and an eye inside, turning to Shredder and Karai. "May I reintroduce Baxter Stockman."
He stepped aside from the tank, allowing Shredder and Karai to get a good look at what remains of Stockman, whose eye turned to them.
Karai gasped in disgust at how much Stockman has been reduced to, while Shredder was very much amused.
"This is Baxter Stockman?" He asked with a snort. "You've lost weight."
"Of course it's me! Look around you!" Stockman said, very annoyed. "Do you think this facility would have been possible without my genius?"
Various technicians continued working, including one on a computer.
"These imbeciles working for you have the technological savvy of amoeba!" Stockman ranted.
"And you've been very naughty, Stockman, betraying me once too often. You should've quit while you were… a head." Shredder sneered, laughing as he did so.
"Go ahead and laugh, Shedder! If it weren't for my knowledge regarding -" Stockman said, but Hun turned a knob on the tank that lowered the volume of Stockman's voice.
"One of the greatest benefits of having Baxter Stockman in this state." Hun sneered, pulling out a remote. "Allow me to demonstrate how the good doctor was induced to hand over so much of his information."
He then pressed a button on the remote, which caused Stockman's tank to electrify and shock him, making him yell in agony.
While Hun and Shredder were very amused at his torture, Karai was just disgusted.
"Master, where is the honour here?" She questioned Shredder. "His misery should be put to an end, not prolonged!"
"Do not presume to question me, Karai." Shredder snarled at her. "Stockman is the perfect example of what happens to those who betray me." Hun then stopped shaking Stockman as Shredder stepped towards Karai. "Is that clear?"
"Yes, Master." Hun replied, as he's more in line with Shredder compared to Karai, not caring one bit about honour. "A perfect example. Now, if I may show you your new army."
Everyone followed after Hun, even Stockman, who floated behind everyone.
"These are our latest and most deadly weapons of destruction. The Foot Mechs." Hun said as everyone stopped in front of these Foot Mechs, with two of the Foot Technicians bowing in their presence.
Lights came on, showing two of the Foot Mechs wearing suits and with human disguises of them, excluding the faces, while the rest were more robotic in appearance. The next two were nowhere near completion as only their torsos and arms were finished. There was another that only had the torso and legs. The fourth had the arms, torso and legs, but lacked a head. And the fifth and sixth had everything.
"As you know, the Utrom exo-suits possess unimaginable strength and reflexes. These nine Foot Mechs are an advanced android technology based on the exo-suits and upgraded with weaponry." Hun explained as he walked over to a computer, where a Foot Technician stood. "They will be completely under your control from this command centre."
"Nine? Why only nine?" Shredder questioned, considering he obviously wanted more.
"Well…" Hun said, pressing a button on the computer, causing the image of a biochip to show up on the monitor. "...these Foot Mechs are constructed around an Utrom biochip that's beyond our ability to create or replicate. We were only able to recover nine such biochips from what the Utroms left behind."
Shredder placed his hands on his hips as Hun approached him.
"But nine may be all we need. Nobody else on Earth will have weapons like these." Hun argued before walking up to the two Foot Mechs that had suits on, which stood next to the ninth Foot Mech, which was still in shadow, though it seems shorter than the rest. "When finished, these two will be perfect reproductions of the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of England."
Shredder, Karai and Stockman then made their way to Hun, interested in the ninth Foot Mech.
"And I think you'll really enjoy this one, Master." Hun smirked.
A light came on, revealing the ninth Foot Mech, which was a reproduction of Splinter, making Shredder gasp.
The mech pounced onto the ground in front of them before a large metal slab came down from the ceiling, which had the drawing of a turtle on it.
"Watch this." Hun told Shredder just as the slab fully lowered itself with four Foot Technicians steadying it before backing away. "Foot Mech, destroy!"
The mech's eyes glowed red as it looked at the metal slab and the drawing of a turtle before somersaulting forward and kicking the drawing twice and punching it once, leaving it incredibly dented. The mech then bowed.
"It is perfect." The Shredder said, very impressed, as he stood next to the mech.
Hun smirked at Karai, who was unimpressed as she folded her arms a moment before approaching Shredder as the ship's foghorn blared white the ship itself moved slightly.
"We have arrived, My Lord." Karai told Shredder, as the ship had docked in the harbour.
"Good. Let us test these new Foot Mechs. Send this one out to hunt down the Turtles and Alexander, find their hiding place, and destroy them and their friends once and for all!" Shredder demanded as he laughed evilly.
Elsewhere, in the sewers of New York, a couple of rats were munching on some cheese before they ran off upon hearing a loud noise heading their way.
Alex, the Turtles, Alopex, Tiger Claw, Venus and Mona were all racing down the tunnel Shell Sleds that Donnie had invented for each of them, matching the colours associated with each of them.
Sydney wasn't with them due to curfew by her family, though she does have her own Shell Sled.
Everyone whooped and cheered very much enjoying their new rides.
Raph and Mona revved up their Shell Sleds and got ahead of everyone else.
They cheered as they ended up on the ceiling of the tunnel, but their headlights soon shined on something ahead of them.
"What the…?" Raph muttered.
"Oh, crud." Mona gasped.
The pair slowed their sleds down as they got back over the water and stopped right in front of a Triceraton. The very Triceraton that escaped TCRI, whose spacesuit and mask were torn and damaged.
"Hey, guy, what's with the hold up?" Mikey asked as he and everyone stopped among the pair.
"Oh, shell!" Alex said in stunned horror, seeing the Triceraton as well. "What is a Triceraton doing here?"
"It can't be." Raph said as he got up.
"Yet here it is, clear as day." Mona said as she got up as well.
Leo got off his Shell Sled and pulled out his katanas, ready for a fight, as everyone else got off theirs as well, pulling their weapons out.
"You don't think it's an invasion, do you?" Mikey asked.
"Considering he looks torn and exhausted, probably not." Tiger Claw growled.
"Must've escaped being sent back when we brought you guys back to Earth." Alopex said, realising who this Triceraton was.
The Triceraton growled as he held his head, which he shook, like he was disorientated.
"Enemy sighted!" He then bellowed, which left everyone on edge, ready for a fight.
"Enemy engaged!" He then yelled as he charged, but much to everyone's confusion, not at them, but at Donnie's Shell Sled, which he pounced onto and then raised it up and proceeded to bang it against the ground twice before letting go. "Federation robot!" He then slammed his fists onto the sled, causing it to spark and short circuit.
"Um, what's up with that?" Mikey asked, expressing everyone's confusion.
"Yeah, why does he think a Shell Sled is his enemy?" Venus asked, just as confused, having never met or knew of Triceratons.
"Objective: destroy with extreme prejudice!" The Triceraton cried out as he continued smashing the sled.
Once he was done, he started gasping and coughing badly as he turned to everyone, falling to his knees.
"It must be Earth's atmosphere." Alex realised upon seeing this.
"You're right. His breather mask is cracked." Donnie said, realising this as well. "He's breathing our atmosphere and it's affecting his brain. The Triceraton Homeworld has an atmosphere of nitrogen and sulphur."
"Meaning our air is making him delusional." Alex concluded as everyone put their weapons away, his voice drawing the Triceraton's attention.
"Sirs, ma'ams…" He gasped, standing at attention, coughing as he did so. "...Trooper Zog, serial number XJ4, reporting for duty, sirs and ma'ams."
He saluted everyone, leaving them confused before Alex saluted back.
"I think he thinks we're some kind of Triceraton officers or something." Raph concluded.
"Talk about delusional." Mona said, her tail swaying anxiously.
"What should we do?" Donnie then asked.
"I don't know. Obviously we can't send him back home, since the transmat is destroyed." Alopex reminded them.
"As long as big horned and ugly doesn't rip us limb from limb, I don't care." Mikey gulped.
"At ease, soldier." Alex said to Zog, approaching him. "What is your situation report?"
"Must complete mission, sir." Zog replied, placing his hands behind his back, gasping, while Alex circled around him.
"What mission, soldier?" Alex asked, standing in front of Zog.
"Must capture Fugitoid at all costs, sir." Zog replied.
Alex, the Turtles, Mona and Honeycutt rematerialised on the transmat in the TCRI building.
Then Zog, another Triceraton and two Federation soldiers rematerialised behind them.
"My squad was pursuing target when we were caught in energy beam, transported to coordinates unfamiliar to this soldier."
"Seize it!" Zog's fellow Triceraton ordered, pointing at Honeycutt.
"Oh, dear." Honeycutt gasped.
"Fire!" One of the Federation soldiers barked and a gunfight ensued.
"Engaged Federation forces also tracking Fugitoid…"
During the gunfight, Zog ended up being cut off from his fellow Triceraton and climbed towards a hole, which he fell into.
"...and in heat of battle, became separated from my unit. Target not captured."
He then landed in the water in the sewers before he walked down a tunnel.
"Unable to reconnect with squad…"
"...and lost weapon, sir." Zog explained before he turned his back to Alex and walked away slightly. "Request permission to terminate self for disgraceful failure of mission, sir."
"What?" Leo gasped as Alex frowned with concern.
"No need, soldier." He then said, walking up to Zog. "The mission to capture the Fugitioid was a success. And you're to be commended for your survival skills."
This made Zog feel honoured and moved as he turned to face Alex.
"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." He said gratefully, struggling to breathe, before he coughed severely.
"This poor guy is breathing poison." Donnie said as he walked up to his ruined Shell Sled.
"Is there anything you can do, Donnie?" Venus asked, her caring nature coming out, as she hated seeing the Triceraton suffer like this.
"Well, maybe I can rig up a temporary breather from one of the nitrogen fuel enhancer tanks on the Shell Sled." Donnie replied as he started pulling parts out.
"Hey, hold on. Are you nutso?" Raph questioned Donnie's sanity.
"Yeah, if the big guy gets his head cleared up, he'll realise who we are and try to wipe us out." Mona sided with Raph.
"But we can't turn our backs on him when he needs help." Donnie argued as he stood up, having just finished making the breather. "That's just… wrong."
"As much as I hate to say it, he's right. Where's the honour in that? Even if he's the enemy." Alex sided with Donnie.
Donnie then walked up to Zog and started putting the breather on him.
"Here, let me hook you up, big guy." He said, adjusting the breather. "Okay, I don't know how much this'll help, but you should breathe a little easier now."
Zog took deep breaths, finding it easier to breathe, the tank strapped this hip.
"Sir, thank you, sir." He then said, performing the Triceraton salute.
"My children!" A voice cried out.
Everyone turned and saw Splinter limping towards them, his left leg wrapped with two pieces of wood.
"My children!" He cried out again as he was shined on by the headlights of Raph's Shell Sled.
"Master Splinter, are you okay?" Donnie asked concerningly.
"An intruder in our lair. Rebecca is held hostage." Splinter explained, moaning as he leaned against the wall. "We were attacked. You must take me back. Save Rebecca and defend our home. Defend -" He then fell into the water.
"Master Splinter!" Everyone gasped as they ran to him.
"Sensei!" Leo cried out as he and Donnie picked him up by the arms.
"He's hurt pretty bad. He's barely breathing, and he's cold." Donnie explained to everyone.
"Wait, hold on? How could this have happened? Mom and Master Splinter are master ninjas. How could one intruder beat them with ease and hold one of them hostage?" Alex pointed out, his suspicions were acting up.
"Not to mention the fact that Master Splinter doesn't have his usual scent. Something's fishy about all this." Alopex said.
"This must be some kind of ploy." Tiger Claw added.
"That can't be true." Leo said, his emotions clouding his judgement, as he and Donnie held Splinter up onto his feet. "We're going back to the lair and -"
"And I'm gonna kick the shell out of whoever did this to Master Splinter!" Raph snarled as he punched his open palm, also letting his emotions cloud his judgement.
Alex, Alopex and Tiger Claw looked at each other worriedly, but they and everyone else got on their Shell Sleds while Leo and Donnie carried Splinter over to Leo's Shell Sled.
"What about him?" Mikey asked about Zog, walking up to him. "We can't just leave him here."
"Then bring him." Leo replied as he got behind Splinter on his Shell Sled. "But let's go!"
"Soldier, follow us!" Mikey ordered Zog as Donnie got on Raph's Shell Sled.
"Yes, sir." Zog replied, saluting.
Everyone revved up and raced their way through the sewers with Zog running after them.
When they made a bend, everyone stopped upon seeing something that confused most of them: Splinter, who seemed uninjured, and Rebecca standing in front of them.
"Huh? Master Splinter? Lep gasped in confusion, looking at the one sitting on his Shell Sled.
"Guys, was there an intruder in the lair?" Alex instantly asked Splinter and Rebecca.
"No, why would there be?" Rebecca replied in bewilderment.
"Because we were told one attacked the lair and held you hostage by him!" Alex glared at the Splinter on Leo's Shell Sled as everyone, except Leo, got off their Shell Sleds.
"Then that phoney Splinter is a liar!" Rebecca glared as well, pulling out her katana.
"Leonardo, put him down, now!" Splinter demanded from Leo.
"Leo, do as he says!" Alex added, pulling out his katana, Alopex, Tiger Claw and Venus pulling out their weapons as well.
"What's going on?" Leo asked, looking at the Splinter on his Shell Sled, while being pulled away by Tiger Claw.
On the Foot freighter, Shredder, Hun and Stockman watched the live feed on a red monitor of the Splinter Foot Mech, who looked at Leo, a Foot Technician sitting next to them.
"Now you've done it, muscle bound thug!" Stockman rounded on Hun. "We can't have two Master Splinters in the same place. And now they know they were told a lie! You botched the whole thing!"
"Back off, Stockman!" Hun snapped, holding the remote out, making Stockman back away, as he didn't want to get shocked again.
Shredder then sighed in annoyance, rounding on Hun.
"The Turtles and Alexander are not taken in by such an obvious ruse, Hun, especially with the boy's mother present!" He snarled, pushing Stockman's tank out of the way. "Destroy them now!"
"Yes, My Lord." Hun said nervously before turning to the technician. "You heard Master Shredder, activate the Foot Mech's lethal protocols!"
He smacked the technician's shoulder, who then typed in on the keyboard in front of him.
Mech Splinter's eyes glowed red, confirming that he is indeed an imposter.
It then leapt at and kicked Raph in the plastron, knocking him into Donnie and Mona, crashing into the water.
The mech then kicked Leo onto the wall.
Alopex and Tiger Claw then charged at the mech, slashing their weapons at it, but it leapt over them and split kicked them in the heads, knocking them away, with Alopex crashing into Venus, who tried charging in.
Alex snarled as he charged at the mech, slashing his katana for its head to decapitate it, but it ducked and tried kicking his chest, but Alex was able to dodge it in time and slash its leg and back in a blur, making sparks form with its robotic appearance now present.
The mech then spun and tried to kick Alex again, but he ducked and tackled the mech onto the water, making it short circuit some more before it used its tail to whip the back of his head, making him lose grip of it and got kicked in the chest, being knocked away.
Mikey pulled out his nunchucks and readied himself as the mech flipped over towards him. It leapt at him, but Splinter kicked it away, crashing into and leaving a large hole in the wall.
The mech then charged at Splinter, throwing a couple of punches, which Splinter dodged and blocked before kicking it, which it blocked with its hands.
Splinter then threw a couple of punches, one being dodged and the other resulting in the mech grabbing Splinter's walking stick, which now resulted in a tug of war.
But then Rebecca came in from behind and stabbed the mech through the stomach while Zog helped up Raph, Donnie and Mona.
The mech yelled as it then kicked Rebecca away and swung more punches at Splinter, who blocked its punches, the two moving past Alopex, Tiger Claw and Venus as they got up as well.
The mech was soon able to punch Splinter in the face, knocking the walking stick out of his hands and kicking him three times, knocking him into the wall and crashing in the water.
"We've got to help him." Leo told the others as most of them pulled out their weapons while Splinter and mech started circling each other, Rebecca's katana still embedded through the mech's stomach. It also started twitching and flinching.
On the Foot freighter, Shredder and Hun watched the monitor as the mech faced off against Splinter, leaving the former fed up.
"Hun, I am growing impatient!" He snarled, frightening Hun. "Finish them now!"
"Take it up to full force attack!" Hun spat, shaking the technician's chair, who then pressed more buttons on the keyboard.
The mech's eyes glowed much brighter now.
It then threw a fast punch at Splinter, who stepped aside, making it punch a hole in the wall. It then charged at and kicked Splinter in the chest, knocking him onto his back in the water.
"MASTER SPLINTER!" Donnie cried out as everyone gasped.
The mech then turned to everyone and charged at them, twitching as it did so.
Leo tried slashing the mech, but it dodged his katanas, and it then punched him away, knocking him onto his plastron.
Raph roared as he thrust one of his sais, but the mech stepped aside and kicked and punched him away.
"I think we need to send in the calvary." Alex said as he looked over at Zog while Donnie charged at the mech, whacking it with his bo staff, which it grabbed and used it to throw Donnie onto his shell.
"Zog, engage and destroy the enemy!" Alex ordered Zog, pointing at the mech as it kicked Mikey twice, knocking him away.
"Sir, yes, sir!" Zog acknowledged with a salute.
He then charged at the mech as it repeatedly punched Mikey, who was blocking it with his forearms.
"For the Republic!" Zog yelled as he leapt and punched the mech away, making it crash head first into a wall and land on its knees, sparking some more and part of the disguise around the face was torn off.
Zog then tried punching it as it charged at him, but the mech jumped over him. It then tried punching him, but Zog stepped aside and grabbed it by the kimono, spinning it before slamming the mech into the ground, making Rebecca's katana get thrown out, and then raised it over his head and ripped it in half, shutting it down.
Zog dropped it and was ready to punch it again.
"No need, soldier." Alex told him as he walked up to him and grabbed his mother's katana, handing it to her. "Mission accomplished."
"Definitely accomplished." Leo said in amazement as Donnie walked up to the remains of the mech, examining it.
"What I wanna know is where did robo-Splinter come from, and who sent it." Raph said, making Alex come to a particular conclusion, one that Leo would definitely not want to believe.
"It does not matter!" Splinter snarled with deep venom as he picked up his walking stick. "Whoever they are, I will not stand by while they use my likeness to attack my family! We must strike back immediately!"
Everyone was stunned by how angry Splinter just got.
"Never seen him so steamed." Raph whispered to Leo and Mona. "I'm kinda enjoying it, actually."
"Of course you would." Mona shook her head in amusement.
"Hey, a remote control module." Donnie said, pulling out a piece of tech from the mech's insides.
"Looks like Utrom tech." Alopex noted, having a good look at it.
"Well, if this Splinter was remote controlled, we can trace the signal." Donnie explained. "You guys stay with the robot, I'll be right back. I need some equipment from my lab."
He ran over to Leo's Shell Sled and revved it up before racing off to the lair.
On the Foot freighter, the monitor now showed static, which left Hun worried about facing Shredder's fury.
"Hun?" Shredder growled
"Looks like, uh… it might be a malfunction," Hun said nervously.
"Find out what went wrong!" Shredder demanded, holding his two pronged gauntlet up to Hun's chin. "I want the Turtles and Alexander destroyed!"
Later, Donnie came back from the lair with the equipment he needed and everyone sat on their Sewer Sledds, but Donnie sat on Leo's, who sat behind the wheel of the Sewer Slider, with Splinter and Rebecca sitting in it as well.
"Voila!" Donnie whooped, holding up a tracker. "A direction finder, which seems to be pointing… that way."
He then raced down the tunnel, followed by everyone else, except Leo, Splinter, Rebecca and Zog.
"New mission, soldier." Leo told Zog before pulling a knob, which stretched the Sewer Slider out for Zog to hop on. "Climb on."
"Sir, yes, sir." Zog saluted before hopping onto the back of the Sewer Slider, making it rock slightly, before Leo raced after the others.
"I can't believe we have a Tricerton on our side." Rebecca told Leo.
"Not that ridiculous, considering we're friends with Traximus." Leo pointed out.
"Fair point." Rebecca shrugged.
On the Foot freighter, Hun stood in the main room with Shredder walking up to him.
"The Splinter Foot Mech has gone dark, Master." Hun informed him as he walked past him and followed after him. "The last signal indicates that the Turtles and Alexander may have discovered the remote control module and have become aware of our presence."
"Good." Shredder sneered as he approached a table. "Let them come if they are foolish enough to try. It will give me great pleasure to squeeze the life out of them with my own hands!"
He then sliced the table with his gauntlet in half before laughing evilly.
Later, everyone had made it to the docks and ran towards a warehouse, where they pressed themselves against the wall, excluding Zog.
"This is it." Donnie said as he looked at his tracker. "The signals are coming from inside that freighter."
Everyone peeked to see the freighter, which had a prominent Foot symbol on the side.
"I knew the Foot had something to do with this." Alex snarled, seeing that his suspicions were indeed confirmed.
"But Karai leads the Foot now, and she gave us her word the Foot would leave us alone." Leo said, not wanting to believe this.
"I am sorry, my son, but in this case, we must believe what we see." Splinter told him.
"But -"
"Face it, Leo, like I told you, Karai doesn't know honour, and never will if she remains loyal to the Shredder." Alex cut Leo off sternly.
They peeked out once more, seeing some Foot Ninjas carrying some crates, while others stood on the boardwalk.
"Something tells me we're going to be really, really outnumbered." Donnie gulped, seeing how many Foot Ninjas there were.
"What we need is something to help us even the odds." Raph argued.
"And what can that be?" Mona asked.
Mikey, who was at the rear of the group, gestured for Zog to come towards him.
"Boys and girls, meet Zog, the equaliser." Mikey said as Zog saluted.
Once the Foot Ninja were gone, everyone ran towards the freighter. Donnie then put a headset radio on his head, passing out more to the others.
"Okay, here's the plan. We'll reconnoitre the ship and see what we're up against." Leo said as everyone put on their headsets, excluding Zog.
"Ready for action, sir!" Zog saluted, though he accidentally whacked a crate with his arm, making Alex run forward and catch it before it could hit the ground. He then put it down.
"You need to be quiet, soldier. This part of the mission involves recon." Alex told Zog off gently. "We need stealth at the moment."
"Sorry, sir." Zog apologised as he saluted again. "But stealth is not one of my strong points."
"No duh." Raph muttered before everyone gathered together.
"We obviously can't take him in there for recon." Leo whispered.
"Not to mention he's too big for stealth to begin with." Tiger Claw added.
"So what do we do about him?" Alopex asked.
"Mikey, you stay here and watch Zog." Leo instructed. "Venus, Mona, Don, you three stay here and watch Mikey."
"Hey!" Mikey complained.
"You do need to be watched most of the time, Mikey. It's only fair." Alex shrugged.
"Be ready to move." Leo then told the four before he motioned for Alex, Raph, Splinter, Alopex, Tiger Claw and Rebecca to move along. "We'll contact you as soon as we know what the Foot are up to."
The seven of them ran off to the right and hid behind some crates.
They watched as a couple of Foot Ninjas walked away. Once they were out of sight, Raph ran forward and then ran up a rope, followed by the other six.
Up on the deck of the freighter, five Foot Ninjas walked along it, oblivious of Raph and Tiger Claw jumping onto the deck behind them, crouching down.
Raph then pulled out one of his sais before the pair pounced towards the ninjas, pulling two of them back.
The other three ninjas turned upon noticing their absence, letting Alex, Leo and Alopex to jump onto the deck behind them.
They were about to attack, but Leo spin kicked one in the chest, Alex chopped one's neck and Alopex wrapped her legs around the third's neck, choking them out.
They then hid the three ninjas behind some crates and in the shadows.
A couple more ninjas appeared and looked around before peeking behind the crates, seeing Alex, Leo and Alopex with the ninjas they knocked out.
They were about to run and sound the alarm, but got swept off their feet by Splinter and Rebecca, knocking them out as their heads slammed against the deck.
Everyone gathered together and they all nodded.
Leo then looked around until he spotted a vent cover behind him.
"Looks like our way in." He said, pointing at it.
They all quietly crawled their way through the vents and gathered around a vent cover.
They looked through it to see some Foot Technicians standing by some computers, and much to their collective horror, they saw one of the technicians talking to Shredder.
"The Shredder?" Leo gasped. "Not again."
"He's now much worse than a cockroach." Alex snarled, clenching his fists tightly.
"I see he still gets his suits at the hardware store." Raph joked, noticing how he has a new set of armour.
"Hey, there's more of those robots." Alopex pointed at the other Foot Mechs.
"Two of them look like they're near completion." Tiger Claw noticed. "They must be planning to replace various political figures so they could control the planet."
"Not to mention make their own deadly assassins." Rebecca pointed out.
"They must be stopped." Splinter decided their objective. "This facility must be completely and utterly destroyed."
"Don, here's the plan." Leo said through his headset.
Mikey, Donnie, Venus, Mona and Zog kept their eyes on the freighter.
"We need to blow the ship sky high. To do that, we'll have to get it out to open waters away from the city." Leo explained.
This made them all turn to each other, a bit surprised by the plan.
"The rest of us will take the bridge and get the ship moving." Leo then said.
"Mikey, Venus, Mona, you three and Zog cast off the mooring lines, and then meet us on the bridge." Leo instructed, making the four look at each other.
"Don, can you sink it?" Leo then asked.
Donnie looked at the freighter before turning to the others.
"Hey, if I can't figure out a way to take out a floating Foot lab that's sitting on top of thousands of gallons of diesel fuel, I might as well hang up my tool belt." Donnie replied before he sprinted his way to the freighter.
In the main room of the freighter, Shredder stood with Hun and the Elite Guard when Karai ran in, kneeling to Shredder.
"Master, we have a security breach." She informed him before standing back up. "We found several of our guards knocked unconscious."
"Hun, take the Elite and scour the ship!" Shredder ordered, turning to Hun. "If it is the Turtles and Alexander, hold them. I wish to destroy them myself."
This left Karai shocked as Hun and the Elite Guard bowed before leaving the room, Karai turning to them.
"Is something the matter, Karai?" Shredder asked, knowing her mind was elsewhere.
"No. Nothing, Master." Karai lied, shaking her head, before bowing. "If you will excuse me, I will put the ship on full alert."
She then left the room.
Outside, Mikey, Venus, Mona and Zog stood by a mooring line, wrapped around an anchor that Zog ripped out of the boardwalk.
"Nicely done, big fella." Venus said, patting his arm.
"Now, let's get the front mooring." Mikey said.
The four ran towards it when several Foot Ninjas appeared and jumped towards them.
Up on the bridge of the freighter, the seven approached the captain's chair and turned to the controls.
"Sheesh, all these buttons and not one of them says 'on'." Raph groaned.
"Everything just gets too complicated for their own good." Alopex groaned as well.
They were all surprised when the lights turned on.
"Crud." Alex spat as he saw Hun by a switch in the corner of the bridge.
"Welcome aboard, freaks and brats." Hun sneered. "I'll be your cruise director for the trip, and I'm happy to tell you, you'll be experiencing pain. Lots and lots of pain."
The Elite Guard then jumped in through two of the windows before running around the controls.
Everyone gritted their teeth as they pulled out their weapons.
"Uh, guys, now would be a good time to bring in our friend, the secret weapon." Leo spoke through his headset as the Elite Guard approached everyone.
Outside, however, the five were completely surrounded by the Foot Ninjas that followed them, trapping them in a circle.
"Guys, come in!" Leo said over the radio. "Guys, come in!"
Mikey gulped as the ninjas all pulled out their katanas.
What Alex said at the start is basically what sums Karai up in this show, that she's too grateful to Shredder for adopting her after being abandoned that, really, her loyalty to him is more important than honour, whether she realises this or not. It's why she ends up the way she does after season three.
Oh, and Arika 25, stop being so hostile! I simply said that I'm focusing on this story right now and I'll get back to writing Leo of the Lion Guard in the future. If you keep this up, I'll delete that story for good, and you'll be to blame, since I can't tolerate that kind of behaviour.